Comments on: Verbal Assault: The Abuse and Debasement of “Rape”

By: Tyciol

Tyciol — Tue, 04 May 2010 08:52:48 +0000

Goldberg and Tomasi were right though. I completely disagree with the idea that now is not a time to 'show off wordplay'.

Using accurate terminology is INCREDIBLY important. It is NOT minimization. Rather, it is clarification. If anyone is guilty of skewing things, it is those who lack proper vocabulary and sensationalize things with words used in a way deviating from their proper definitions.

By: Bianca

Bianca — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:24:02 +0000

Ebophile? Did you mean Ephebophile?

By: ddrt

ddrt — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 19:14:25 +0000

I hate how family guy slips in an elongated spot specifically for a rape joke in the newest seasons. It's sickening. (ex. aquaman not being able to get out of the water(?wtf) to help a girl being raped on the beach and they even have her say "stop it, he's hurting me!" ) They do this quite often and it's very annoying, not funny or pushing boundaries, just inappropriate and annoying.

By: Male Rape Victims And the Penetration Problem - The Sexist - Washington City Paper

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:15:47 +0000

[...] it’s a criminal thing, too. According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting system, forcible rape is “the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will.” To the FBI, the [...]

By: Legal Consent, Morning-After Regret, and “Accidental” Rape - The Sexist - Washington City Paper

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:36:06 +0000

[...] Rape laws are invalid because they’re based on how the victim “feels” the next morning. [Source]. [...]

By: The Date Rape Drug Is An Urban Myth. Let’s Put It to Rest. - The Sexist - Washington City Paper

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:50:02 +0000

[...] this happens about as often as the classic stranger-rapist-in-the-bushes scenario—in terms of real rape statistics, hardly ever. A 2006 study of 120 date rape cases in the United Kingdom revealed that 119 of the [...]

By: ben

ben — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:16:18 +0000

i think the picture is very cool

By: Shiyuan

Shiyuan — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 22:30:36 +0000

Reminds of me of these conversations I used to have in college about whether language matters. (I went to a women's college, & there would always be male professors that liked to refer to students as "girls" and our college as "a girl's school,' thinking that it made no difference.

How we obfuscate the problem of sexual violence with new words & qualifiers, and categories of injury, really gets under my skin.

And now, with the student at Hofstra University recanting her rape accusations, it just encourages people who weren't sympathetic to the stories of rape survivors to begin with to down play the severity of sexual assault.

Meanwhile, the responsibility of preventing sexual assault falls squarely on the woman's shoulders. It's her responsibility to watch her drink, not go out alone, not dress too slutty, act too suggestively, rather than the man's responsibility to not rape her.

My thoughts on that here: http://torrentmagazine.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/preventing-assault-isnt-just-womens-work/

Sexual violence & violence against women is, unfortunately, not a problem of a few bad apples – that is, a small minority of men commit all the crimes, & their actions, however abhorrent, do not reflect on society as a whole. Rather, it's a systemic problem – that more men cross the line than you think, that more women experience assault than you know, and that all of our silences contribute to an environment that’s hostile towards women & forgiving towards men.

By: Verbal Assault: The Abuse and Debasement of “Rape” « Torrent Magazine

Verbal Assault: The Abuse and Debasement of “Rape” « Torrent Magazine — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 20:06:55 +0000

[...] Continue reading at The Sexist [...]

By: Gretchen Paules

Gretchen Paules — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:46:04 +0000

The Let Go...Let Peace Come In Foundation is a newly formed nonprofit with a mission to help heal and support adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse worldwide. We are actively seeking adult survivors who would be willing to post a childhood photo and caption, their story, or their creative expressions to our website http://www.letgoletpeacecomein.org. We need to "show" the world that we will no longer be silenced and that there are enough of us to make a difference. By uniting survivors from across the globe we can help provide a stronger and more powerful voice to those survivors who have not yet found the courage to speak out. Together we can; together we should; together we NEED to stand up and be counted. Please visit our site for more details on how you can send us your submissions.

Thank you for everything you do!

Gretchen Paules
Administrative Director
Let Go...Let Peace Come In Foundation
111 Presidential Blvd., Suite 212
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004

By: Toysoldier

Toysoldier — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:24:34 +0000

The reason there are different "versions" of rape is because the term has been whittled down to include anything from forcible assault to regretted sex, as long as the victim is female. All the existing language surrounding this issue is a direct result of certain politically-motivated groups pushing for an extremely broad definition, although again it is applicable only to female victims. That is why the bulk of the language excludes male victims, why the bulk language excludes female rapists, and why the language itself is so clouded. What counts as rape is arbitrarily decided by certain politically-motivated groups who generally have little genuine concern for victims. Changing that dynamic means one would have to start by challenging those who introduced the convoluted terms "date rape," "gray rape" and "not rape," although doing so would likely result in one being accused of promoting "rape culture" or being a "rape apologist."

By: Mike Mitchell

Mike Mitchell — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:19:44 +0000

Here's what I read in a blog. Sounds possible. And possible means Beyond Reasonable Doubt. Maybe you don't have that concept over there in America? "The reason that Polanski was offered a plea of statutory rape was that the psychiatrists who examined Polanski thought Polanski wasn't capable of it, and those who examined the girl thought she might be embellishing the truth under the coaching of her mother and the prosecution. In any case, a much reduced plea was offered because those who had to prosecute the case didn't see much of a chance of winning it."

By: piecesofstring

piecesofstring — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 03:53:32 +0000

Jesus, might want to put a trigger warning on that picture.

By: Simon

Simon — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:32:53 +0000

Hard to place a date on when spousal rape was made illegal. It's a matter of state law and there are 50 states. I'd guess there's about a 30-year span between the first state to criminalize it and the last state. Then there's also the civil/criminal divide (in some states, to this day, it constitutes a crime but not actionable battery because of spousal immunity laws put in place to prevent insurance fraud).

By: Former Staffer

Former Staffer — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:29:12 +0000

recursive...everything. did you see the nutjobs want to rewrite the bible because its too liberal? i thought they were convinced it was the DIRECT WORD OF GOD.

yet being kind to your neighbor means keeping them from getting health care and coveting their wife...oh wait.

By: recursiveparadox

recursiveparadox — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:33:33 +0000

Wait... spousal rape was outlawed in 1993? Fuck my life. What is wrong with this goddamn country?

I was 8 when spousal rape was still legal. Holy fucking ridiculous shit.